Radio frequency (RF) communication systems are widely used in today's society. Indeed, RF communication systems are used in many aspects of business, industry and academic endeavors. Some well-known examples of RF communication systems include cellular telephone systems, wireless computer networks (e.g., 802.11), short-range point-to-point communication systems (e.g., RF identification tags), wireless sensor networks (e.g., ZigBee), personal area networks (e.g., Bluetooth, Ultra-wideband), and so forth. Technology related to RF communication systems continues to advance at a rapid pace.
RF communication systems facilitate the transmission of information from a transmitter to a receiver over a communication channel. The transmitter modulates an information-bearing signal onto a carrier frequency, and the modulated signal is then radiated by an antenna. The receiver isolates the desired signal from interference and noise for demodulation and further processing. RF communication systems may be utilized to transmit many different kinds of information, such as audio and/or video signals.
As indicated above, the present disclosure relates to the dynamic range of a receiver within an RF communication system. The dynamic range of a receiver is a measure of the highest- and lowest-level signals that can be accommodated by the receiver. Stated another way, a receiver's dynamic range refers to the range of signal levels over which the receiver is able to operate. Dynamic range may be defined as the difference in power between the weakest signal that may be detected by the receiver and the strongest signal that may be handled by the receiver. The lower end of a receiver's dynamic range may be limited by noise that masks low-level signals. The upper end of a receiver's dynamic range may be limited by interference due to non-linearities in the receiver that introduce distortion products in the received signal or that distort the desired signal.